Mode of fastening keys in locks



fNITED STATES l PATENT OFFICE.

MODE OF FgASTENING KEYS IN LOCKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 55.126. dated May 29, 1866; antedated May 18, 1866.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, S. B. LOUGHBOROUGH, ot' Canandaigua, in the county of Ontario and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Device for Fastening Door-Keys in the Locks; and I do hereby declare that the tollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part ot' this specification, in which- Figure l is a top view of my invention as applied to the lock. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is an outer end view of the key 7c and locking-bar b.

The red lilies in the figures represent the plates of the lock, and the saine letters of ret'- eren'ce indicate corresponding parts in the several gures.

It is a well-known fact that expert burglars care but little whether the key is left in t-he lock or removed, there being no bolt to the door, which is very frequently the case, for if it is left in they clasp and turn it to unlock the door, and if it is removed they simply in sert a key of their own and open the door. Many of the boldest house robberies have been and are almost daily being committed by effecting an entrance in this manner without disturbing the family or occupants. The object ot this invention is to provide a simple, cheap, and etlicient obstacle to such performances.

I provide the bar b, made of any suitable material, having a thin cup-shaped head, h, at one end, which is made with an open loop, t, small enough to be inserted through the bow d of any ordinary-sized key and reach far enough above to receive the keying or clamping wedge w. This wedge may be made of metal, wood, leather, or rubber, but probably leather or rubber would be preferable on account of its having a less tendency to slip, and thereby be less possible to be worked loose and thrown out ofthe loop, or a corrugated spring may be substituted for the pin fw, or a scrollring might be used.

The key 7c is inserted in the lock and turned so as to throw the bolt and lock the door, the key being left with the wingu standing at right angles with the'key-hole, as shown in Fig. 3. The har b is then inserted in the key-hole, under the key, as shown, and the loop t of the head It placed through the bow d of the key, and the wedge w inserted.

These fasteners may be made of several lengths and sizes, so that all locks may be fitted, each size fitting two or three lengths of keys and several sizes of holes.

lt will be seen that when the key is in the lock, and the bar b and wedge w applied, it is impossible to turn the key or to remove it or the bar from without.

It might be desirable in some instances to use a pivoted clamp on 'the bar, to clasp the bow l ot' the key, instead of the loop and wedge.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

lhe employment or use ofthe safety-bar I),

constructed substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described, in combina tion with the clamping-wedge w or its equivalent.

S. B. LOUGHBOROUGH.

Witnesses WM. S. LoUGHBoRoUGH, AssL H. BILLINGS. 

